Arthur kirk



A. KIRK Distiiling' Petroleum. No. 78.878. I I 7 Patented June 16. 1868.

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ARTHUR KIRK, 0F ALLEGHENY GIT-Y, PENNSYLVANIA.

Letters Patent No. 78,878, dated June 16, 1868; antedated February 10, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN DISTILLING PETROLEUM.

TO ALL WHOMIT MAY CONCERN:

le it known that I, ARTHUR. KIRK, of Allegheny City, in the county of Allegheny, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Distillation of Petroleum; and I dohereliy declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, making a part of this specification, in which-- Figure 1 is a'front elevation of a nest or battery of stills, with connecting-pipes for passing the oil from still to still, to secure a continuous distillation of the oil, and

Figure 2 is an end view of a still; fitted with my improved devices for regulating the feed, and for ascertaining the amount of residuum remaining at any time in the still during an exhaustive distillation of the oil.

Like letters of reference indicate-likc'parts in each.

The nature of my invention consists, 'first, in connccting'togcther the consecutive stills in a nest or battery of stills, by pipes, in sucha way that as the lighter products of distillation in each still are driven off, the heavier or residual .oils willilow along, from still to still, increasing. in gravity, and. soefi'ect a continuous distillation, with a complete separation of the different products of distillation according to their gravity, such connecting-pipes being so arranged as to perform the function of a, trap to prevent the, backward flow of the oil; and, second, in "combining, with such stills, devices for ascertaining the amount of residual oil remaining at any time in a still in the process of an exhaustive distillation.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and manner of use. t

The stills a b e, in any desirable number, of the usual or any known construction, are built in the furnacewalls d and over suitably-constructed furnaces, which, in the drawing, are closed by thc doors e. The goosenecksfconnect with the usual condensing-apparatus forrthe usual purposes. The stills are connected to each other by pipes :13 y 2, each pipe extending from the upper part of one still to the lower part of the next.

The oil is fed into the first still, at, either in the usual way, or in the manner yet to be described, till the still is about two-thirds'full, more or less. Heat is then applied to the still, and the more volatile ingredients of the oil, as gasoline or benzine, are driven ed and condensed in the usual way. A continuous flow into the still, a, of crude oil, is kept up, the feeding being somewhat in excess ofthe evaporation.

As soon as the oil in the first still, a, has risen above the upper orifice of the pipe x, such oil, thus deprived of its more volatile ingredients, flows through the pipe 2: into thenext still, 6, to which, when about two-thirds full, heat is applied, the next less volatile ingredients are driven oif and condensed, and the oil fed in from the still, a, rising above the upper open cnd'of the pipe y, flows through such pipe y into the next still, 0, and so on into and through as many stills as may be necessary or desirable, in order to secure a complete and exhaustive distillation of the oil, and a complete separation of the difi'erent products of distillation, according to their gravity. i

In other words, crude oil is fed continuously into the first still a, its lightest ingredients driven oil, the remaining oil flows continuously into the-next still 6, where the next lightest ingredients are vaporized, and so on from still to still, the products of distillation in each successive still becoming heavier, and the distillation more exhaustive. This process may be continued till only a tarry residuumremains, or it may be arrested at any desirable point.

By introducing the oil thus into the lower parts of the stills, I 'efl'ect a more complete separation of water, tarry residuum, and otherimpurities from the oil, they being precipitated and drawn off by suitable stop-cocks, while the oil rises, and is'cither vaporized or flows on into the next still, as described.

By running the pipes a: 3 z from the upper part of one still to, at, or near the bottom of the next, I pro vide for the onward fiow of the oil, but prevent its flowing backwards, that is, so long as the oil in the stills does not rise above the upper ends of the pipes x y e. To this end, such pipes act as traps. But if one of the first stills becomes partially empty, or has less oil then the next still, I quickly supply the deficiency by increasing the feed into the first still, a. v

Another advantage which I secure is, that the oil being discharged into the stills, at or near the bottom. is heated while rising through the body of the oil, and more readily vaporizes on reaching the surface.

I am also enabled to make amore-economical application ofheat, since I adapt the fire under each still to the quality of the oil to be driven off, the lighter oils vaporizing at a lower temperature, and vice verse. I also affect a complete separation of the several products of distillation, and discharge them from separate condensing-apparatus into separate receiving-tanks.

In connection with the devices described, I use an apparatus for regulating the feed,v shown infig. 2, a being ,the still, and g the crude-oil feed-pipe.. this feed-pipeI place a cock or valve, 2', which is opened or closed by an arm, z".- Inside the still is a iloat, s, of any convenient construction, so arranged as to operate a lever, Z, on the outside of the still. This lever Zengages the arm lot the valve, and as it rises, closes the' valve 2', and vice versa. Bntthe tv vo are so connected thatwhe'n it is desired to run ofi all the distillable ingredients of the oil, till only the residuum is left, the lever Z and arm i may be conveniently disconnected, or so that theywill: at any fixed point disconnect themselves, when' the spring 71., attached to the arm 2'', will close the valve 1', and shut off the supply of oil. 1 v

The distillation of the oil in the still, a, ma then he continued till only the tarry residuum is left, in which case, as the float 8 inside goes down, the lever 1 acts as an index to show the amount of oil or residuum remainingin the still. Y At'the proper time the lire is put out, the residuum removed, the still refilled, and the distillation continued."

t I thus construct a nest or battery ot' stills, by which to distill petroleum, or other". substances requiring such treatment, in continuous distillation, with a complete separation of the products of distillation, and also with a self-regulating feed, and index for showing the amount of oil in any one still.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Eli'ecting a. continuous distillation of petroleum, or' other distillablc substances, by causing it or them to flow through a succession of stills, giving oil in each still the more volatile ingredients, the stills being connected by trap-pipes my z, &c., so as to prevent the backward flow of the substance to be distilled, substantially as above set forth.

2. A nest o'r battery of stills, for purposes of distillation, two or more in number, connected together by' pipes, each pipe leading from the upper part of one still to the lower part of another still, substantially in the manner and for thepurposes above set forth.

3. In-con nection with a still, for distilling petroleum, and other distillahle substances, the use of a float, s, with suitable index-lever 1, arranged and operated substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

In testimony whereof, I, the said ARTHUR KIRK, have hereunto set iny hand.

' ARTHUR KIRK.

Witnesses:

A. S. NICHOLSON, G. H. Onursrv. 

